DNR working to restore snowshoe hare habitat

For decades, winter meant the peak of snowshoe hare hunting, but a declining hare population has diminished this once rich tradition.

By MARK SPENCLEYmark@cheboygantribune.com

For decades, winter meant the peak of snowshoe hare hunting, but a declining hare population has diminished this once rich tradition.Rabbits and hares used to be the token species of Michigan’s winter hunting tradition, but much has changed since flying snow, shotgun blasts, and baying beagles created the tapestry of a successful hunt.Over the last two decades, northern Michigan’s snowshoe hare population has been in a precipitous decline. Areas once rich with long-ears haven’t seen respectable hare numbers since the early 1990s.According to Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Mark Monroe, the forces crippling the hare population are fairly clear — predators and diminishing habitat.“Snowshoe numbers have been down for quite a while,” he said. “Their numbers were good in the 70s and 80s.”Like any species, snowshoes are dependent upon habitat and there is simply less good hare habitat these days.It’s been over a half-century since the peak of Michigan’s aspen cutting. During the 60s and 70s, the state harvested thousands of acres of aspen, clearing space for regrowth and creating massive tracts of perfect hare habitat.It takes roughly 50 years for an aspen forest to fully recover from cutting. Much of the once prime hare country, cut in the 70s and 80s, has regrown and is now ready to be cut again. This cutting could potentially lead to a rebound in the struggling hare population.“I think habitat has had a lot to do with the decline,” said Monroe. “In the 80s and 90s we reached a lull in aspen cutting.”“We’re getting back into aspen harvest,” he added. “This should hopefully help the snowshoes.”The decline of the snowshoe population is not a secret. DNR officials are well aware of the issue and are devising replanting methods to help reinvigorate the once thriving species.“When doing cuttings we look for areas we can do more for hare habitat,” Monroe added. “We don’t ever really focus on one species, but by focusing on hares we can do a lot for a bunch of other species.”Cuttings provide lots of downed treetops and other horizontal cover, which is ideal for snowshoes to hunker beneath. As aspen cutting revs up, habitat should no longer challenge the viability of the northern Michigan hare population. An emerging challenge is the predator population.More coyotes and wolves inhabit the North than ever before, significantly more than were present during the booming hare years of the 70s and 80s.“There are definitely more predators around now,” Monroe said. “There are tons of coyotes, a lot more than there used to be.”Though it’s early in the process, the pieces are being put in place for the snowshoe population to rebound. Given the necessary conditions, namely habitat, it doesn’t take long for hare population to recover.

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